Comments on: Politicians, Professional Wrestlers, and Proper Analogies http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/08/politicians-professional-wrestlers-and-proper-analogies/ a radical newsletter in the struggle for peace and social justice Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:07:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: cg http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/08/politicians-professional-wrestlers-and-proper-analogies/#comment-26629 cg Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:40:08 +0000 http://www.dissidentvoice.org/?p=2541#comment-26629 Lloyd, here's a little chipmunk inspired Olympic memorabilia for your scrapbook. The Jim Beam competition. http://www.disclose.tv/files/photos/f52854cc99ae1c1L.jpg Lloyd, here’s a little chipmunk inspired Olympic memorabilia for your scrapbook. The Jim Beam competition.

http://www.disclose.tv/files/photos/f52854cc99ae1c1L.jpg

]]> By: Lloyd Rowsey http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/08/politicians-professional-wrestlers-and-proper-analogies/#comment-26606 Lloyd Rowsey Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:16:16 +0000 http://www.dissidentvoice.org/?p=2541#comment-26606 Well, Dave Zirin talks pretty good sports-politics analogies these days, and he put up an article here (and at the Nation) a few days ago comparing American gymnastics at the Olympics to a Big Mac. Now I can't find the article either here or at the Nation, and I just hope DZ didn't request both publications to pull it BECAUSE I commented favorably on it (here). The utterly apt analogy DZ made was to Bela Karoli's dissing the Chinese for having little underage (16 year old) gmnastic competitors and the Chipmunk's dissing Russia for invading another country. I think he wrote that there was a total and appalling absence of moral justification for either man's position. I wouldn't take the time to comment about this, except I've just been thinking about DZ's extraordinary ability to phrase an apt analogy between the world of sports and the world of politics. BTB, my take on the Olympics to date is that it will go down as The Crybaby Olympics, with the U.S. starring. You know. James Blake. The boxers. The gymnasts. The baseball team. (Who's next?) The pity is it's the athletes and not the handlers and big TV program owners and manipulators whose names will be attached to the ignominy. But not to worry. 2012 will see the circus back in the GG back in GG back in GGB, suck-ass sibling of the good old USA. And this little minor-nations olympics episode will have long passed into one of Chomsky's black-holes of history. Well, Dave Zirin talks pretty good sports-politics analogies these days, and he put up an article here (and at the Nation) a few days ago comparing American gymnastics at the Olympics to a Big Mac. Now I can’t find the article either here or at the Nation, and I just hope DZ didn’t request both publications to pull it BECAUSE I commented favorably on it (here).

The utterly apt analogy DZ made was to Bela Karoli’s dissing the Chinese for having little underage (16 year old) gmnastic competitors and the Chipmunk’s dissing Russia for invading another country. I think he wrote that there was a total and appalling absence of moral justification for either man’s position.

I wouldn’t take the time to comment about this, except I’ve just been thinking about DZ’s extraordinary ability to phrase an apt analogy between the world of sports and the world of politics.

BTB, my take on the Olympics to date is that it will go down as The Crybaby Olympics, with the U.S. starring. You know. James Blake. The boxers. The gymnasts. The baseball team. (Who’s next?) The pity is it’s the athletes and not the handlers and big TV program owners and manipulators whose names will be attached to the ignominy.

But not to worry. 2012 will see the circus back in the GG back in GG back in GGB, suck-ass sibling of the good old USA. And this little minor-nations olympics episode will have long passed into one of Chomsky’s black-holes of history.

]]> By: Raven http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/08/politicians-professional-wrestlers-and-proper-analogies/#comment-26593 Raven Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:51:21 +0000 http://www.dissidentvoice.org/?p=2541#comment-26593 The only differences between professional wrestling and politics are these: 1. The division between the heroes and the heels are clear, and when the heroes eventually triumph over the heels, the crowd feels gratified that the heroes avenged for the crowd, while the heels, in their infinite egomania and greed, have been squashed and relegated back to the depths of the rookie hell. In politics, there's no clear definition of who is good and bad, and the people just see all politicians as bad. There has been no clear "hero" in politics- just people that continually lie and cheat to make the lives harder of those smaller than they are. 2. At the end of the day, the wrestling matches were always the show. We all know that. Our lives weren't determined by the actions of those that won/lost the match. Politicians hold our lives in their hands. They determine what will happen to us as a country. They play with our lives like a game, like a sick game of Risk or Chess. They play their games of dominance, while we are the casualties. The only differences between professional wrestling and politics are these:

1. The division between the heroes and the heels are clear, and when the heroes eventually triumph over the heels, the crowd feels gratified that the heroes avenged for the crowd, while the heels, in their infinite egomania and greed, have been squashed and relegated back to the depths of the rookie hell. In politics, there’s no clear definition of who is good and bad, and the people just see all politicians as bad. There has been no clear “hero” in politics- just people that continually lie and cheat to make the lives harder of those smaller than they are.

2. At the end of the day, the wrestling matches were always the show. We all know that. Our lives weren’t determined by the actions of those that won/lost the match.
Politicians hold our lives in their hands. They determine what will happen to us as a country. They play with our lives like a game, like a sick game of Risk or Chess. They play their games of dominance, while we are the casualties.

]]> By: Michael Tincher http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/08/politicians-professional-wrestlers-and-proper-analogies/#comment-26582 Michael Tincher Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:17:45 +0000 http://www.dissidentvoice.org/?p=2541#comment-26582 Nicely done! Analogy brings to light ways of looking at confusing issues, but carrying through a complex one, as this one is, as neatly as you have is impressive. What you point out so clearly is that we get the show we support. Apparently we don't want a real contest between real policies that might be implemented -- at least the promoters don't want such an expensive and dangerous possibility. It tells us something about us when we can fill hours of TV time and large venues with the WWF, but could not get more than an "elite" small crowd to watch a real Greco-Roman contest. One could get depressed for sport as well as politics. Nicely done! Analogy brings to light ways of looking at confusing issues, but carrying through a complex one, as this one is, as neatly as you have is impressive. What you point out so clearly is that we get the show we support. Apparently we don’t want a real contest between real policies that might be implemented — at least the promoters don’t want such an expensive and dangerous possibility. It tells us something about us when we can fill hours of TV time and large venues with the WWF, but could not get more than an “elite” small crowd to watch a real Greco-Roman contest. One could get depressed for sport as well as politics.

]]> By: bozhidar balkas http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/08/politicians-professional-wrestlers-and-proper-analogies/#comment-26568 bozhidar balkas Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:06:17 +0000 http://www.dissidentvoice.org/?p=2541#comment-26568 yes, the structure of discourse by clerico-political class of life (or parasites) to us, the unwashed, hasn't changed since at the latest with the sumerian ascendancy. the talk consists in the main with these members: make oodles of tacit and voiced promises. in the bible there are thousands of 'promises' (read lies) evocation of great perils blame selfpraise supremacism kissing babies or smiling a lot lies, half truths, knowitall attitude. demonization of real or made foe there may be more. and what became of, I came to make mistakes! just this morning i made a serious mistake just cooking water. and people think obama is not going to make one mistake in his firt term? and not only a mistake but crime(s)? yes, the structure of discourse by clerico-political class of life (or parasites) to us, the unwashed, hasn’t changed since at the latest with the sumerian ascendancy.
the talk consists in the main with these members:
make oodles of tacit and voiced promises. in the bible there are thousands of ‘promises’ (read lies)
evocation of great perils
blame
selfpraise
supremacism
kissing babies or smiling a lot
lies, half truths, knowitall attitude.
demonization of real or made foe
there may be more.
and what became of, I came to make mistakes!
just this morning i made a serious mistake just cooking water.
and people think obama is not going to make one mistake in his firt term?
and not only a mistake but crime(s)?

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